Hello! I am dreaming to be in Bonaire for the first time in the summer. am reading and searching for a house for 4 of us. We would like to be ON the beach with a private pool, yet in a residential complex (seems safer than a isolated house!). My husband can't come unless wifi is in place to follow business at home...the boys want easy access to diving and the reef. It seems to me that Sabadeco is the right area...is it really nice and safe and best for beaches and diving? Your help and expertise appreciated.

The houses at Crown Court (in Sabadeco) have what you are looking for. Very nice accommodations, waterfront, private pools, in a grouping of like homes.

Not sure about WIFI, but you can get setup with portable WIFI access from Michael at Chat n Browse. Very reliable wifi and very reasonably priced for a week of access.

Crown Ridge in Sabadeco would meet your needs.

Oh yeah...duh, it is Crown Ridge that I was thinking of, not Crown Court. Thanks, Beth!

Actually when you mentioned Crown Court, two properties came to mind...Crown Court 38 (private pool, with coral stairs into the ocean and also a snorkling ladder) and Crown Court 44A (also has a private pool and direct access to the ocean).

Both Villas are right on the ocean, but no sandy beach.

I have stayed at Villa 38, but not 44A.

Be careful with villas on Crown Ridge; although they say they have ocean access that can mean going out of the garden, out of the back gate, down the steps and across the beach at Andrea 1 and 2. Bob and I found that it was easier to do shore diving cos you could get nearer the ocean! Crown Courts 44 is a lovely house and we never missed the beach because of the nice pool area. Night diving was excellent.

Crown Court 44A meets your needs. On the water, ladder from backyard puts you in the water, wifi, pool, etc. We were there early 2010.

http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j192/schmed123/IMG_0220.jpg

(Message edited by Schmed on January 7, 2011)

(Message edited by Schmed on January 7, 2011)

(Message edited by Schmed on January 7, 2011)

Julia, Beth,lizard and H2ODoc...
thanks for the nice suggestions...so it seems that Crown Court 44a is the one with the highest matching for the needs of my family....is anyone online ready to pin point a problem with 4a? Or is anyone aware of a beachfront house with direct access to a sandy beach that has at least 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms , wifi and pool?
thanks to all in advance this is a wonderful community!

Silvia, check homeawayvacations.com. They have some nice properties in the same general area you are looking for.

Per my recollection, sandy beaches aren't too common on Bonaire. Mostly coral rubble.

You can also check with some dive shops - ours delivered 8 tanks of Nitrox every morning at 7 am. Nothing like the clink clink of tanks to gently wake you up in the morning. Ahhhhhh.

That is a great news! a dive shop that delivers tanks...whow! can you tell me which shop was it?
I see that in Bonaire most divers dive from the shore. This is not what we have done in most part of the world..but ...always ready to learn something new. here the question for you: is diving from shore of high quality? do big fishes really get so close or...is reef far away and you need to swim far from shore? is boat diving worth or not really? thanks DOC!

Hi, Silvia -- I neither dive nor snorkel, and next month will be our 15th trip. For a whole host of reasons, I love the place. My wife is an avid snorkeler, in the water 4+ hours a day.

You can check several web sites (just type in "Bonaire" and surf away) which will show you dozens of shore diving sites and give good information about each. Your dive shop can also provide you with a good little book on diving/snorkeling in Bonaire.

As several have already mentioned, don't expect gorgeous expanses of sandy beaches. Although we have a wonderful one at our hotel, I still use aqua socks when entering the water. Even when we go up to Pink Beach so my wife can snorkel there, I wear them so as not to hurt my aging tootsies.

Hope you love the place!

Hi we spent 3 weeks @ a house called dream bonaire. Great place situated on the ocean next door to belmar dive shop.You can google it @ dream bonaire.The care taker is ron ottans he said he just pick up another house in sabadeco on the ocean called kiwk kiwk 3 bedroom on the ocean with a pool sounds vary nice.Bonaire is safe don't worry . His phone# is 599 9 786-1344

Hi the last post should have read villa kiki You can also google it@ villa kiki bonaire theirs diving from the back yards of both places your going to have great time Take some bread for the lizards in the park ,then stand back! Have fun kent

Ken thanks a lot,
i am touch with Ron he is very kind. silvia

Anyone knows a residential area called I PUEBLO? they rent a house called KOKOPELLI, it looks wonderful but I am not sure if there is access to the sea from the house? Anyone knows if it is a good area, nice residential complex...safe...nice diving ?
thanks: you all are being so helpful!!( loved the tip on the lizards!)
silvia

Silvia, Pueblo is a new development. Not sure how many units are occupied at this time. Lots of ongoing construction. The house sit on a cliff and there is no direct access to the ocean. I walked thru one of the units last year.

Hi Beth,
you are very helpful! so...among Kokopelli at El pueblo oceanfront house, Crown court 44a beachfront and Crown Ridge 2 ( one of the 15 ocean front hoses at Crownridge) ....which is the one that you recommend most for the same price?
best Silvia

Quick question..How old are your boys?

boys are 17 and 20 advanced PADI divers

Based on the criteria you listed in your first post, I would go with Crown Ridge. I think Villas 2, 6, 12 and 15 are all rental properties. I know one of the Villas in Crown Ridge has stairs going down to the beach from the villa, but I can not remember which one. (I will see if I can find out). Otherwise you will have to take the path at the end of the complex and walk down to the beach. It is a great snorkeling spot and a nice location.

I LOVED the views from Pueblo and the house was very nice, but there was a lot of construction going on as they are still building units and you would not have direct access to the ocean. There also did not seem to be a lot of people living in any of the units.

I have never stayed at Crown Court 44A (I did stay at Crown Court 38 a few times), but I think you would be happy at 44A. We stay in Crown Court pretty much every year. Crown Court is an upscale development with several gated homes, tennis court, private dock etc. There is no beach w/i walking distance, so if that is important to you, Crown Ridge would be the better option.

Another thought: For diving 44A would be the better option, it is great being able to suit up on your deck and climb down a ladder and go for a great dive. We did a lot of night dives when we were staying a CC38.

I will be on Bonaire on FEB 6th, so let me know if you want me to take a picture or check anything out. I love looking at real estate on Bonaire.

Silvia,

It looks like Villa #12 in Crown Ridge has stairs to the beach.

Check out the first review in this link.

http://www.villacrownridge.com/reviews/

and the photos on this link. The photos show a picture of the stairs going down to the beach.

http://www.vacationrentals.com/vacation-rentals/52493.html

For reference, here are some of our pics that show the ladder from 44A.

2010 Bon pics

Love the photos. I have a questions regarding 44A...do the windows have screens?

Silvia, I have never stayed in this house, it is slighty more $$$, but worth taking a look at:

http://www.sunrentalsbonaire.com/vacations/beach-house-casa-del-mar.html

I don't think anyone answered your question about shore diving. That is the huge plus to Bonaire. It is considered the shore diving capital of the world and for good reason. Other than the occasional tricky surf entry, shore diving is easy and convenient. The swim out to the reef (or double reef!) is usually fairly short (less than 100 yards I would say) and there is plenty of life to explore along the sandy bottom as you go out. Fish life is abundant and diverse everywhere. You will have no regrets about the quality of the diving.

A must get is Bonaire Shore Diving Made Easy. A book by a local that gives you great info on each dive site on the island.

e.

Here's a link describing the different dive sites. Ease of entry varies but I don't think any are really difficult if you look them over first. None of the sites I dove from shore were more than about 75 yards from shore, which gave a nice safety stop swim in rather than hang out watching the clock.

http://www.geographia.com/bonaire/bondiv03.htm

if u do go shore diving u will with out a doubt need hard soled booties and open back fins or do boat dives

u might want some boat dives in order to dive kline bonaire